MOOSE JAW — The Opposition NDP is blaming the provincial government for 2,500 fewer jobs in the Moose Jaw/Swift Current region in December 2025, saying the Sask. Party is unwilling to address the situation.
Aleana Young, MLA for Regina South Albert and the NDP’s economy and jobs critic, spoke in Moose Jaw on Jan. 12 about the numbers that Statistics Canada released on Jan. 9.
Those numbers showed that while the seasonally unadjusted unemployment rate fell from 5.1 per cent in December 2024 to 4.1 per cent in December 2025, the participation rate declined to 61.1 per cent from 67.3 per cent.
Furthermore, 50,900 people were working in the region last month, compared to 53,400 during the same period in 2024, a decrease of 2,500 positions, Statistics Canada said. Moreover, the labour force fell to 53,100 from 56,400, while the region’s unemployment rate was the 13th lowest in Canada last month.
Also, Saskatchewan's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate had the biggest monthly jump amongst provinces, from 5.6 per cent in November to 6.5 per cent in December, the data showed. The province’s youth unemployment for those between 15 and 24 also hit 15 per cent.
Previous Statistics Canada data showed that the region shed 2,600 jobs in November 2025 compared to November 2024, with 50,900 people employed in the region compared to 53,500 that month.
Young said fewer people have been working in the Moose Jaw region since Scott Moe became premier in 2018, which was unfortunate since the community offered many opportunities and had plenty to offer people looking for work.
“… what we see continually is a government that is asleep at the wheel, a government who is (so) committed to the status quo that they will not act,” she said, noting that Moose Jaw’s MLAs, Megan Patterson and Tim McLeod, have not been visible since the data came out.
It's been nearly a year since the United States’ tariffs “started to hammer” the Saskatchewan economy, with Moose Jaw one of the first places in the province to be affected by the financial penalties, Young continued.
Truck drivers, tradesmen and other people who work with their hands have been most affected, with layoffs in the transportation sector beginning a year ago and now starting to appear in Statistics Canada’s monthly job reports, the NDP MLA remarked.
The numbers for the Moose Jaw region were “a gut punch” to families who were preparing for the Christmas season and to the community’s economy, which needs people to work and thrive, said Young.
There has been “radio silence” from the premier, while Moose Jaw’s MLAs have failed to discuss how they would reverse “this troubling trend” facing the economy, she added.
Young pointed out that these numbers are from Statistics Canada, which means the Sask. Party cannot accuse the Opposition NDP of “cherry-picking numbers” to push an agenda. Meanwhile, she said the first step the provincial government should take is admitting that there is a problem.
“The Sask. Party government, under Scott Moe, has had the second-worst job creation record in Canada — full stop,” she said. “This is not month-to-month. This is not year-to-year. This is his entire term.
“He's continually had the worst or the second-worst job creation record in Canada, lagging only behind Newfoundland and Labrador,” the NDP MLA continued.
Young noted that if Saskatchewan’s economy were the strongest in Canada, there wouldn’t be 42 consecutive months of rent increases, last-place health-care outcomes, or one in four people needing to borrow money to buy food.
“We continually have the worst outcomes. That’s not acceptable to me. That shouldn’t be acceptable to the MLAs from Moose Jaw. That shouldn’t be acceptable to the premier of Saskatchewan,” she added.
The government’s second step should be to help the economy fire on all cylinders, especially in Moose Jaw, where many opportunities exist in the public sector — like meat packing and processing — and the public sector with Crown corporations, Young said.
Young accused the Sask. Party of “starving the Crowns” by taking millions of dollars in dividends and then asking ratepayers for two four-per-cent tax hikes to pay for its mistakes. She added that if the Sask. Party was incapable of supporting Moose Jaw, then the NDP was “very interested and committed” to the community.
Provincial government responds
The provincial government responded in an email, saying Saskatchewan continued to build a strong labour force.
“According to the most recent labour (numbers) from Statistics Canada, Saskatchewan added 17,700 full-time jobs year-over-year between December 2024 and 2025,” the province said. “One sector that saw significant growth was (the) construction industry, with 5,000 jobs added provincially; 1,400 of those jobs were created in the Swift Current-Moose Jaw region.
“In 2025, the province’s unemployment was the lowest among the provinces, at 5.2 per cent, remaining consistently well below the national average of 6.8 per cent,” the email continued.
“Saskatchewan continues to have one of the most engaged labour forces in Canada, with the second-highest employment rate and the second-highest labour force participation rate among provinces in December 2025,” the province added.
